[Crashandburn]

Quote:

Originally posted by MINXD
No coincidence then, MINXD started at 6500

Not sure about that. My problems kicked off at 2500 miles too, although I'm hoping the new ECU thats just been fitted works.

[mr.bill]

Solving the "Christine" problems is going to be a tough nut to crack. The electrical system is digital. They use a 12V DC source with signal wires that send digitally encoded data to trigger the lights, motors, etc. The ECU apparently goes into a standby mode when the car is shut off and it periodically sends signals to the peripherals. If a sensor is faulty, or if moisture gets where it isn't supposed to be, the sensor can signal the ECU and it signals back, so down go the windows, up pop the locks, etc. Replacing the ECU or changing the programming is not necessarily going to solve the problems because there are still a lot of sensors that can go crackers when you least expect it. I know from experience that a lot of modern electronics devices that use CMOS integrated circuits will stop working if subjected to a single drop of water in the wrong place. When it dries out, it works again. A greatly simplified, more conventional electrical system would solve it, but it appears BMW is hell bent on making the current one work. But long-term reliability will remain a big question mark.

[Major Clanger]

My dealer just phoned to say the they have replaced the ECU and are still experiencing problems! The other two MINI's they've seen with this problem were fixed by 'recoding' the ECU.

They've spoken to BMW and would like to hang onto the car for a few days.....

I wonder what BMW had to say


I could have had a 1.7 Puma for the same money; More Power, Better Handling, Tried and Tested. I chose the MINI cos it was supposed to be a BMW

[MINXD]

Have got to say that if nothing else, our dealer is generally very good indeed Thanks guys

Received a phonecall this afternoon advising me that MINXD was ready to collect

So what has happened you might ask?

They have replaced the ECU

They have replaced the CD Player

Wife collected it this evening, so we'll see if the problem is resolved. I hope so.

They also gave it a good cleaning which it needed

One unexpected bonus of all this activity is that the heating controls are now illuminated - they never were before

The other thing that I'd wanted doing was the lying fuel guage. Unfortunately this is on back-order

Fingers crossed...

[mike58]

My dealer has diagnosed the openings problem as a door sensor problem, they are of course unavailable ( back order) and so I now have a hired Astra courtesy of Mini UK.
I understand it is a moisture in the lock/sensor area problem so if this is the correct diagnosis ( BIG IF ) the replacement or recalibration of the ECU would not appear to make sense.

[mr.bill]

Mike58 has stumbled onto the problem. The MINI has the "same" electrical system as some BMW models, the MINI is more than $10,000 cheaper. Corners had to be cut somewhere to keep costs down. The sensors (and there are a lot of them) are probably more prone to moisture contamination on the MINI than on the Bimmer, hence the failures. Hopefully BMW will get it sorted, but I'm still very concerned about long-term reliability. For example, the window has to drop when the door is opened. It must be 100% reliable, and NOTHING is 100% reliable. (Well, except for death and taxes. )

[Jazzy Jase]

Quote:

Originally posted by mr.bill
For example, the window has to drop when the door is opened. It must be 100% reliable, and NOTHING is 100% reliable. (Well, except for death and taxes. )

Mr.Bill, whilst I sympathise with your concerns I think you are worrying too much. Nothing is 100% reliable. Does that mean I should not drive my car incase the brakes fail? It is a risk I will take in order to get to work every morning. Buying a MINI is a risk I will take in order to own the best looking and handling car around. Problems can be fixed. That is what a warranty is for. All cars have problems, they just seem to be highlighted more here because of the popularity of this car. If you are not prepared to put up with a few niggles or the dealer is too far away then buy something else.

[m1les]

Out of interest and merely as a process of elimination, does anyone with the magic windows NOT have an alarm fitted?

[Crashandburn]

Short answer, yes.

Many, many people have posted messages in this forum describing going back to the car and finding the windows open, doors unlocked etc... If they'd had the alarm fitted, that would have gone off too.

Oddly enough, in my case the 'magical' windows didn't open fully - they just rattled in their frames whilst attempting to open and close.

[PigLick]

Cooper_S, what you say is true, and I tend to agree with you to a point. However, you say "Problems can be fixed. That's what a warranty is for." Here in the US, the warranty is only for 4 years maximum, while I for one intend to own the car longer than that. If the sensors are this bad on cars that are only a few months old, what can we expect them to be like after 5 years? I think that is the point Mr. Bill is trying to make. I guess if you're the type that buys a new car every few years, this isn't a concern, but for those of us who like to keep our vehicles around for a while, having them fall apart after the 4 year warrantry is up is a pretty big concern.

Besides all that, as many others have pointed out, the doors unlocking and windows coming down at random times is slightly more than just a "niggle." It could potentially be a very serious security and safety problem. We're not just talking about squeaking seats or shoddy leather here, we're talking about something that could very easily cause an accident or result in the theft of your property.

PigLick

[Crashandburn]

JC, you're right to be concerned, the ECU/Sensor problems are a serious problem. My last car (a Honda, bought second hand) had an unfixable problem with its 4 wheel steering system and various dealers played ping pong blaming sensors first, then the ECU, then the sensors etc... And I was having to pay through the nose as the warranty had expired. It was never resolved - thats why I bought the Mini, and why I'm now extremely concerned that its had an ECU replacement.

Oh, and 4 year warranties? We only get 3.

[Basil]

It's a slippery slope isn't it Australia only gets 2 !!!

[ricardo]

Couldn't it be that this dramatic and worrying fault may be being caused by a simple failure in one small area of the electronics? The drivers door locking mechanism contains a unit which allows you to unlock and wind down the windows (or lock and wind up the windows). If this unit starts to play up (e.g. due to moisture ingress) then this could have the major effect of unlocking doors and winding down the windows.

If, as mr.bill suspects, corners have been cut on the multiplex system then MINI/BMW will be forced to replace the offending part(s)with upgraded units - otherwise there'll soon be lots of rejected cars and plummeting sales.

Not tackling the problem now will prove to be far more expensive. Whatever else we may think about them, no one can deny that BMW is one of the worlds leading car manufacturers with a reputation to protect and vast resources. For that reason, I think the problem will be diagnosed and fixed.

[Basil]

Quote:

Originally posted by ricardo
Couldn't it be that this dramatic and worrying fault may be being caused by a simple failure in one small area of the electronics? The drivers door locking mechanism contains a unit which allows you to unlock and wind down the windows (or lock and wind up the windows). If this unit starts to play up (e.g. due to moisture ingress) then this could have the major effect of unlocking doors and winding down the windows.

If, as mr.bill suspects, corners have been cut on the multiplex system then MINI/BMW will be forced to replace the offending part(s)with upgraded units - otherwise there'll soon be lots of rejected cars and plummeting sales.

Not tackling the problem now will prove to be far more expensive. Whatever else we may think about them, no one can deny that BMW is one of the worlds leading car manufacturers with a reputation to protect and vast resources. For that reason, I think the problem will be diagnosed and fixed.

You could have a good point there.

Does anyone CHECK both doors and the boot when you hit the lock button ?. Maybe if one door lock doesn't quite lock properly (cold, dirty, whatever) maybe after a time, the computer decides to open every damned thing. It's software driven is it not. No reason to think it's not buggy !!

Smack me down in flames if this has been mentioned before somewhere..........

[rich]

Quote:

Originally posted by Basil
Smack me down in flames if this has been mentioned before somewhere..........

I think people have given up Basil - You seem to be fireproof

[MINXD]

Well, touch wood, since MINXD was returned on Wednesday, no further occurances of the magical window/door syndrome

That's a relief as I've been ill and as a result MINXD hasn't been put in the garage by the wife for those nights (I do that - she can't be ar$ed), two of which were rain

Other than what I mentioned was changed, no further action had been taken other than a good clean (had been filthy).

I'll be right back here if it starts happening again.

Fingers crossed

[Basil]

Quote:

Originally posted by MINXD


Fingers crossed

Yes, mine too + everything else. In my opinion this is the worst problem of all of them posted so far.

cheers

[batemano]

Last night, I locked my car, and went into the cinema. I then came out 2 hours later to find my windows down and the doors unlocked. My initial thought that the car had been broken into, but after inspecting it I realized that it is the same problem I have been reading about on this thread. When I got home I couldn't even lock it, as soon as I pressed the button on the key, the doors locked and then unlocked and the windows came down. I took it to the dealers this morning and they have assured me it won't happen again, but they are still replacing the module (is this what they call the ECU??) next thursday. They did seem a bit vague.

[Crashandburn]

Quote:

Originally posted by ricardo
Couldn't it be that this dramatic and worrying fault may be being caused by a simple failure in one small area of the electronics?

IMHO, no.

If it was isolated to a small area it would only affect a single component. I had the interior lights, locks and windows all misbehaving. I did check both doors and boot were locked and no, they weren't. Even leaving it unlocked didn't help - it didn't manage to lock itself but it did manage to arm (and set off) the alarm.

The entire cars electrical system is governed by the ECU, it even seems to govern throttle response. I think Mr Bill has it right and that there is an ECU/Sensor problem, this might (looking at the blackest scenario) be intrinsic to the design.........

On a slightly more optimistic note, since my ECU (Batemano, check that your dealer means ECU when he says 'module'),was replaced 4 days ago I have had no problems, so I'm really hoping everything I've typed above is garbage .

[rich]

Quote:

Originally posted by Crashandburn


IMHO, no.

If it was isolated to a small area it would only affect a single component. I had the interior lights, locks and windows all misbehaving. I did check both doors and boot were locked and no, they weren't. Even leaving it unlocked didn't help - it didn't manage to lock itself but it did manage to arm (and set off) the alarm.

The entire cars electrical system is governed by the ECU, it even seems to govern throttle response. I think Mr Bill has it right and that there is an ECU/Sensor problem, this might (looking at the blackest scenario) be intrinsic to the design.........

On a slightly more optimistic note, since my ECU (Batemano, check that your dealer means ECU when he says 'module'),was replaced 4 days ago I have had no problems, so I'm really hoping everything I've typed above is garbage .

If this is an intrinsic ECU design/programming fault, is it going to be a recall issue once the Herbie ECU has been fully debugged?